


Cheers, To Us

by glossy_stars



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst With A Bittersweet Ending, Cross-Post, How Do I Tag, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Marriage, Oneshot, Wedding, Wedding Reception
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-05 14:04:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21209780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glossy_stars/pseuds/glossy_stars
Summary: Soonyoung gives a speech at a wedding reception, dedicated to the most important person in his life: Jihoon





	Cheers, To Us

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this on a whim the day before one of my biggest College Entrance exams because I’m impulsive I guess, hope you guys enjoy nevertheless ~

Soonyoung has never been more nervous in his life. Clenching and unclenching his fists, he makes his way onstage, and finds his place behind a mic stand.

His eyes sweep across the reception hall, looking at family and friends, before his eyes land on the man of the hour, Lee Jihoon.

He flashes a warm smile at the crowd before starting his speech.

He clears his throat, “Ehem... first of all, thank you all for coming all the way here to spend this wonderful occasion with us. I know some of you have come all the way from China—“, he glances at two of his closes friends, Jun and Minghao, who came back to Korea for this special occasion,”—and even the US~!”, now facing towards the general direction of another one of their other close friends, Jisoo.

“So I was told I needed to make some sappy speech, and though I’m not really good with words I figured if I absolutely _had _to embarrass myself like this in front of a crowd, I’d rather it be for someone who’s very important to me.”, sneaking a glance once more at Jihoon, who’s trying his best to hide the wide smile plastered on his lips

“With that being said, I can’t impromptu a speech to save my life sooo—“, he brings out a folded piece of paper from his front pocket, much to the amusement of the crowd, laughter resounding in the modest venue

He smooths the paper out while speaking into the microphone, “I really did prepare for this, I swear—”, letting out a breathy chuckle

“The theme for my speech will be ‘_Snapshot_’, and there’ll be pictures flashed onscreen while I recount some of my most favorite moments with my favorite person.”

Protests can be heard at the groom’s table, Jihoon jokingly pleading to not show his embarrassing childhood photos, and the crowd laughs with them once more

He looks back to his paper, scanning the outline that he’d written for the speech

“The year I first met you. Sounds cliche already, no? Well that’s exactly how it was. Cliche.

I was the ‘_class clown_’, loud, full of raging hormones... you know the works, we were in 9th grade after all.

As we all know, Jihoon was the quiet type, mostly kept to himself.

It’s a wonder how we became friends after being paired up for one assignment. Something just... clicked.

It was an assignment for music class too, ‘_talent sharing_’ they called it. I danced up a storm to my own choreography, and Jihoon sang and strummed his guitar to his own song.

Even back then we both knew we were meant for the arts. We were two sides of the same coin, and though no one else could really see it, we were very alike in more ways than most would expect.”

On screen, pictures of middle-school Jihoon and Soonyoung are shown. Soonyoung, with his toothy grin bearing his braces, the corners of Jihoon’s eyes crinkling up with his gentle smile.

“We were practically glued to the hip from that point forward. I introduced you to my friends, and you introduced me to yours. What a group the thirteen of us were. Chaotic? yes, but that’s what made it even more memorable.”

He looks around the room to the said group of friends, each individual smiling widely, reminiscing their long history together, while pictures of the group together flash onscreen.

“We spent so much time together, and stuck it out from thick and thin. Things were never smooth-sailing, but we managed to get into the same university too, can you believe it?

Not all thirteen of us ended up going to the same college after graduating from high school, but we all still kept in touch. Jihoon and I managed to get through the first year of Uni together, and the year after that, and the year after that.

I went to you with my problems, relationship related ones among others, and you came to me with yours. I’d let you go on and on ranting about whichever jerk you were going out with at the time, because I knew you’d let me vent too.”

Jihoon playfully rolls his eyes at this comment, hating to be reminded of his exes, but he laughs it off and urges Soonyoung to continue

Soonyoung breaks the awkward tension brought about by the ex-talk by glancing once more at his paper, muttering a “Where was I going with this again?”, the hall erupting into laughter once more

“Oh, right! We were inseparable. People in the university thought we were dating too, at that point. But we weren’t, not that I would have been totally against it at the time...”

There’s something unspoken that it seems he wants to say after that, but Soonyoung doesn’t push it any further.

There’s silence for a bit, and Soonyoung takes in a deep breath before continuing, “Things were rough during the last year of University. The workload got to us, and we fought a lot at the time. We grew apart, like most old friends do, and I started losing you...”

“About a year went by after graduation, and we rarely saw or even spoke to each other. You ended up being hired as a producer at Pledis Entertainment, while I worked with different artists by making choreographies. It was only when we were both hired by the same group to collaborate on a title track song and choreography that we met again, and relived the first time we befriended one another. Things might not have been exactly the same, but I was just grateful we were given that second chance for you to be part of my life again.”

The hall is almost dead silent, with only the sounds of slight sniffles from the moved guests, Soonyoung can tell Jihoon’s getting emotional too, just from the way he tries to hide his face. It’s subtle, but Soonyoung notices anyways, just like he always does with Jihoon.

He grips onto his paper tighter, wrinkling it a bit, “We reconnected after all that time, and now we’re back to just how we used to be. I may regret... a lot of things—“, his voice faltering a bit at the end, fighting back the sobs that threaten to escape from his mouth.

“—but you are not one of those regrets.”

He forces a smile, eyes glassy but still pushing forward. He sighs deeply, “I’d better wrap this up shouldn’t I?”, now laughing it off with the guests

He stuffs the paper back into his pocket, and clasps his hands together. One last picture flashes on screen, it’s Jihoon in his studio, working late as always. But with him is Soonyoung, flashing the brightest smile as Jihoon feigns annoyance.

“Cheers, to us~! For remaining together this long—“

Soonyoung’s vision is blurred by the tears and the glaring spotlight. His lips are stuck in a fixed smile, and he manages to make eye contact with Jihoon, before his eyes travel down to the other’s hand, intertwined with someone else’s, matching gold bands glimmering on their ring fingers.

“Cheers to me, for being a wonderful Best Man~!”

He thinks briefly to himself, about all the “_what could have been_”s— but it’s too late for that now.

“And cheers to Lee Jihoon, our newly married man— Cheers to the newlyweds~!”

The crowd claps and cheers, and there’s a toast being proposed by one of the guests, but Soonyoung is down the stage almost immediately.

He shakes hands with a few of Jihoon’s family before excusing himself outside. When he opens the exit doors and breathes in the warm night air, he regains a bit of his calm.

He takes a seat by the sidewalk, head in his hands, and chokes out all the words he wishes he had said sooner. He raises his head to look up at the night sky, the stars, and the blackness of the universe. He smiles bitterly.


End file.
